Pages

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Each week INWsoccernews will release lists of the week’s best performances for men’s and women’s soccer in the region, recognizing players at schools in the region or those from the area that play elsewhere in the nation.

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

The College of Idaho men saw their postseason chances take a hit when the Yotes fell at Evergreen, which is also chasing the fourth and final spot in the conference tourney, and now trail by five points along with Oregon Tech. On the women's side, things are a lot more wide open, but Eastern Oregon currently sits fifth, one point back of third with a game against the last-place Yotes in the final week.

In the Frontier Conference, the Great Falls men moved into first with a victory over rival Rocky Mountain but the two meet again in the final week. On the women's side RMC is still on top with an unbeaten record, but in the small conference everything is still up for grabs as the three Montana schools all play one another in the final week.

The story in the NWAACC East continues to be the domination of Walla Walla and Spokane. The men's side has seen the two clinch first and second, respectively, while on the women's side the two are separated by only one point going into the final week, making the showdown Wednesday at leaders Walla Walla most likely the deciding factor between the two for the division title which currently resides in Spokane and a nine-year stint with the Warriors.

Meanwhile, the North Idaho College men opened their postseason play with a win before falling to the region's top seed in the second contest. The women begin postseason play this week.

The Whitworth men are doing their best to repeat as the conference champions, but it looks like catching Puget Sound, who have a five point lead and relatively easy slate remaining, is a tall task at this point. This week, the Pirates earned a pair of shutout wins on the road versus Pacific and George Fox. Meanwhile, the Whitworth ladies continue to fight despite having a limited squad, earning a scoreless draw at Pacific and taking league-leading Linfield nearly the distance before falling in the final minutes of overtime.

It was a tough week for the region's schools in the GNAC as MSU-Billings and Northwest Nazarene men's sides faced league-leaders Western Washington and Simon Fraser. Each had close-knit contests against the Vikings, but were routed by the Clan north of the border. The Central Washington women, meanwhile, earned four points on the week.

Monday, October 28, 2013

The Big Sky Conference regular season came to a close and all three programs in the region missed out on the top four and a playoff spot, including 2012 co-season champions and playoff finalists Montana and Idaho State. The Bengals, with a shot at making the final cut, won their opener on the road at North Dakota, but lost a decisive battle for fourth with Northern Colorado in the second outing.

Meanwhile, ISU's counterparts are still alive for a chance to reach the playoffs. The Boise State Broncos, facing two of the league's top teams, narrowly fell at home to powerhouse San Diego State but rebounded to edge New Mexico. The Vandals of Idaho lost at Kansas City, but won on the road versus New Mexico State to remain in a three-way race for fourth.

Across the Palouse, and the border, the Washington State Cougars, strong contenders for an NCAA tournament berth, posted a sweep of their PAC-12 counterparts in Arizona, blanking both the Wildcats and Sun Devils on the road.

With the now Fall champion Cosmos firmly entrenched among the elite of the year, the shuffling continues amidst the middle of the pack as the rest of the NASL remains filled with parity. The Silverbacks continue to fall down the list with a string of big losses just weeks before the Soccer Bowl.

This Week (Last Week) Club (League) :: W-L-D :: Notes

1 (1) Orlando City (USL Pro) :: 16-4-6 :: League champions

2 (2) New York Cosmos (NASL) :: 8-1-4 :: Rallied from an early deficit to clinch NASL Soccer Bowl berth with a 2-1 victory at San Antonio.

The chase is over. The New York Cosmos rallied on the road for a 2-1 victory against the last-place San Antonio Scorpions to clinch the NASL Fall season and a berth in the Soccer Bowl with the Spring champion Silverbacks in Atlanta. The league announced Friday it has reached an agreement with the ESPN broadcast networks to carry the game, November 9 at 7:30 ET, on ESPN3.com (English) and ESPN Deportes (Spanish). Coincidentally, the exact same match-up will see the Cosmos in Atlanta for the final game of the regular season Saturday in a preview the week before the title game.

Thursday, October 24, 2013

The Bigfoot are back in action at home Saturday with doubleheader starting at noon | Photos: Gerald Barnhart

The Sasquatch ladies kicked things off in a rare NWAACC East doubleheader under the lights at Spokane Falls CC Wednesday evening with a rout of visiting Wenatchee Valley College that finished 8-0 while the men were unable to break down the last-place Knights until the second half in a 2-0 victory.

Each week INWsoccernews will release lists of the week’s best performances for men’s and women’s soccer in the region, recognizing players at schools in the region or those from the area that play elsewhere in the nation.

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

The Rocky Mountain women had a good week on the road, handing Carroll the program's first defeat at home in two years before heading to Utah for a win at Westminster. The Eastern Oregon women, meanwhile, earned a split on the road and almost came away with a draw against unbeaten Northwest University only to see it slip away in the final minutes.

Columbia Basin's sides gave Spokane and Walla Walla some trouble this week, but the Hawks just were not enough to get any points in their meeting with the NWAACC East title contenders. Meanwhile, the game of the week had to be the eight-goal affair between the Treasure Valley and Wenatchee Valley women in which the two exchanged early goals and the host Knights rallied from three down late in the game for a draw.

The North Idaho College women joined their men's counterpart in the postseason with a pair of road wins while the men wrapped up their regular season campaign with a pair of road wins over NWAACC sides.

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

The Whitworth men have not had a home sweep of fellow regular NWC title contenders Puget Sound and Pacific Lutheran since 2005, but the Pirates completed the feat with an impressive 1-0 victory against the Loggers in which they did not allow a shot on goal, handing them their first conference loss, and then downed the Lutes in convincing fashion, 4-1, a day after Pacific Lutheran fell 1-0 on the very last second of overtime at Whitman. Meanwhile, Northwest Nazarene posted an impressive result in GNAC play, getting a last-minute goal to tie unbeaten Seattle Pacific 2-2.

Monday, October 21, 2013

Though they currently sit fourth in the conference, the Boise State Broncos posted a 3-0 victory at Colorado to remain in a tight group in contention for the regular season title with the top two teams, San Diego State and New Mexico, coming to town this week. It was a tough week for Gonzaga as the men suffered their first conference loss at Santa Clara after nipping visiting Portland midweek and the women dropped an overtime decision at fifth-ranked Portland in a bizarre finish.

In the Big Sky, Idaho State split their two games this week amidst a record-setting performance from Amanda Ellsworth while the Montana Grizzlies snared a narrow victory over visiting Eastern Washington. In the Palouse, it was a depressing week as Washington State lost at home to the struggling Beavers and Idaho dropped a pair of one-goal decisions at home.

In the NASL, the clubs have separated into three tiers led by the one-loss Cosmos all alone in the first. The second group features Tampa Bay, Carolina and Atlanta jockeying with each other week after week for 'second-best' status. Then there is the rest, battling it out to avoid being at the bottom. The third tier is where the biggest movement was this week as FC Edmonton ended New York's five-game winning streak with a draw.

There was an eight-goal game this week in the NASL, but only two late goals really mattered when it was all said and done as a 76th minute penalty Saturday kept the Tampa Bay Rowdies Soccer Bowl hopes alive for one more day and a 90th minute equalizer for FC Edmonton at New York Sunday kept the Cosmos from clinching the Fall title, at least for one more week. Meanwhile, the MLS Reserve League came to a close* with all three games finishing with at least five goals.

Sunday, October 20, 2013

The Pirates trek to Oregon next week before returning home | Photos: Gerald Barnhart

The Whitworth men and women both dominated on the day in their doubleheader with visiting Pacific Lutheran University Sunday with the injury-plagued ladies settling for a scoreless draw in the first contest and the men rolling to a 4-1 victory after a three-goal first half performance.

The victory for the men marked the first time the Pirates swept the duo of visiting teams (Puget Sound and Pacific Lutheran) since 2005. Though they had lost only three times over the course of those 14 games the last eight years, they missed the sweep on four other occasions due to draws. The bad news on the day, however, was that Puget Sound won 2-0 at Whitman to keep the gap at five points in the table.

Saturday, October 19, 2013

The Whitworth University men dominated in a 1-0 home victory over the previously perfect University of Puget Sound, who were unable to register a shot on goal in their first conference loss of the season. The win followed a loss earlier in the day for the Whitworth ladies, an injury-plated side that came back in the second half to make the play on the field a lot more even than the eventual score would show as the second-place Loggers used a pair of goals from Kylie Beeson to snare the 3-0 victory.

Friday, October 18, 2013

Gore has enjoyed his time as a Battlin' Bear, but what lies ahead? | Photos: Gerald Barnhart

As a striker for an NAIA program at a school featuring just over one thousand students in Montana, national media attention - not to mention professional scouting - does not exactly beckon. For Rocky Mountain College's Oliver Gore, however, that may not matter as his senior season in the Frontier Conference nears an end and he will be able to explore options himself.

This week the Englishman was selected by INWsoccernews as part of it's Best XI for the third time this season and eighth over the past two years after he tallied a goal and an assist over the weekend. His 17th goal of the year was number 63 of his career at RMC.

Thursday, October 17, 2013

Two entirely different games finish with nearly identical outcomes for Sasquatch | Photos: Gerald Barnhart

The CC Spokane Sasquatch women cruised to a relatively easy 3-1 victory Wednesday afternoon versus the Hawks of Columbia Basin College in the first game of the doubleheader while the men battled to a hard-fought victory that was far more difficult than the final 3-0 scoreline would indicate.

Each week INWsoccernews will release lists of the week’s best performances for men’s and women’s soccer in the region, recognizing players at schools in the region or those from the area that play elsewhere in the nation.

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

In the Cascade Conference, the Eastern Oregon women split on the weekend while the ladies from the College of Idaho dropped both matches at home. The Yotes did pick up a victory in the lone men's match however. Rocky Mountain were the lone winners in the Frontier as they swept a doubleheader with Jamestown, which had more success at Great Falls with a men's tie and women's win. The Westminster women also visited Montana, tying Carroll and beating Great Falls.

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

The top two programs in the NWAACC East met Wednesday in two evenly-fought matches that featured thrilling second half action. In the first match, the Sasquatch women of Spokane scored twice to get their first win over the Warriors in many years. The men nearly went scoreless before WWCC found a late goal, creating late drama. The Spokane men were then upset over the weekend, falling at Treasure Valley.

INW region foes MSU-Billings Yellowjackets and Northwest Nazarene Crusaders could not get the better of one another this week with the the ladies finishing in a 1-1 draw Thursday and the men playing to a scoreless affair Saturday. The Crusader women played to another 1-1 draw Saturday against visiting Western Oregon while the Yellowjackets topped Saint Martin's 2-1. Meanwhile, Central Washington downed Seattle Pacific and Simon Fraser. In the NWC, regional foes Whitworth and Whitman squared off on the men's side with the Pirates prevailing 2-1. Whitman also narrowly defeated Walla Walla U in a non-conference contest and both schools blanked George Fox on the women's side.

The Gonzaga men's program continues to enjoy one of its most successful seasons in years, downing visiting Loyola Marymount and posting a 3-3 draw in a game against San Diego they had the better of play in. Meanwhile, the GU women split in California. Also splitting results on the weekend were Washington State, who scored three in each game, and Boise State. The Big Sky's INW trio saw mixed results as Montana also split, earning their first conference win, while Idaho State played to a draw and Eastern Washington lost twice, including being the first to lose to second-year Big Sky program North Dakota, who were zero for 13 previously.

In what could have been a marquee result in their West Coast Conference campaign with the offense running on all cylinders throughout the contest as they held the better of play, the Gonzaga Bulldog men had to settle for a 3-3 draw Sunday at home versus San Diego, which used two penalties and a corner to make things much more difficult than needed to be.

San Diego took the lead twice on set pieces with Nick Hamer equalizing for the Zags after the first and Clark Phillips the second before adding his own go-ahead goal in a dramatic five-goal second half.

Sunday, October 13, 2013

With a big win over the only team that has handed them a loss, the New York Cosmos have more than proven their success in a half a season of competition is not to be taken lightly, moving them up to the second spot in the rankings as they are arguably, the heavy favorites to win the Soccer Bowl in Atlanta at this point, unless the Silverbacks return to the form that earned them the Spring crown.

It is nearly over with three weeks left in the NASL Fall season as the New York Cosmos can only be caught mathematically by the Tampa Bay Rowdies (seven back) and Spring champion Atlanta Silverbacks (eight back). That means with a dozen games left throughout the league, it could all be over next week if Tampa Bay and Atlanta falter Saturday or New York wins at home Sunday against seventh-place FC Edmonton.

Saturday, October 12, 2013

In a game that was far closer on the scoreboard than what the possession and opportunities could have led to, the Whitworth women earned a narrow 1-0 victory against visiting George Fox University Saturday afternoon. The Pirates had chance after chance throughout the contest, but it was Kristin Wucherer's tally in the 49th minute that stood as the deciding tally.

Friday, October 11, 2013

Spokane and Walla Walla square off in the return half of the series October 30 | Photos: Gerald Barnhart

CC Spokane and visiting Walla Walla CC - the clear NWAACC East Division leaders in both genders - played to a pair of thrilling encounters Wednesday afternoon at Spokane Falls CC with both games featuring even play and thrilling second half finishes. The CC Spokane women prevailed 2-0 with a fantastic Tasha Luu strike and a late counter finished by Rainey Pelzel while the men's contest nearly went the distance scoreless before Walla Walla's Mario Guizar struck in the 89th followed by a frenzied finish.

Thursday, October 10, 2013

Each week INWsoccernews will release lists of the week’s best performances for men’s and women’s soccer in the region, recognizing players at schools in the region or those from the area that play elsewhere in the nation.

A trip to Jamestown proved to be a difficult trek for Great Falls as the Argos men's and women's sides lost all four games on the weekend by the same 2-1 scoreline. Though the second game was cancelled due to field conditions, the Carroll women came away with a 4-1 win against Jamestown and Rocky Mountain women played to a 1-1 draw with conference foe Westminster.

Meanwhile in the Cascade Conference the College of Idaho men picked up the lone win in three games for the Yotes and the Eastern Oregon women split their two road contests to continue their impressive turnaround season.

Wednesday, October 9, 2013

As things transition to play within the East Division now that crossover competition with the North has concluded, one thing has become abundantly clear: Walla Walla and Spokane - who meet in Spokane Wednesday - are clearly the top two sides in both the men's and women's leagues. On the men's side the Warriors are unbeaten (5-0-2) and Spokane is not far behind with one loss (4-1-1); while on the women's side both are unbeaten with Walla Walla (7-0-1) leading Spokane (5-0-3)

The remaining teams in the division for both genders all have losing records thus far; and on the women's side third-place Columbia Basin (2-4-2) is the only other team with a win as the three others are a combined 0-20-4.

In the GNAC this week both MSU-Billings and Northwest Nazarene men's sides swept their respective pair of games, but the big result was the 2-1 victory goalkeeper Cody Lang (Spokane, WA) helped lead Seattle Pacific to over top-ranked Simon Fraser. Meanwhile in the NWC it was a rough road week for Whitman and Whitworth with only two points between the four teams as the Pirates picked up a pair of draws at Pacific Lutheran.

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

The Gonzaga men had not earned a point on the road in conference play since 2009, but the Bulldogs continue to surprise many this season and came away with two points this weekend with a pair of draws at Saint Mary's and San Francisco in which the defense allowed just one goal. Also in California this week was Washington State. The lady Cougars suffered their first loss of the year against the third-ranked UCLA Bruins but rebounded with a win at USC. In other Division I results, the INW trio of Eastern Washington, Idaho State and Montana only picked up two wins in six combined Big Sky contests; Idaho split a pair of road games and Boise State won in their lone home contest.

The New York Cosmos continue to prove they are the best of the NASL in the Fall season while the rest of the pack chasing them suffered losses to the bottom three teams within the rankings, leading to them slipping slightly down the rankings and the rest of the league inching upward.

Sunday, October 6, 2013

The New York Cosmos won on the road to move seven points clear with four games remaining in the Fall campaign, making themselves strong favorites to reach the NASL Soccer Bowl in Atlanta in their first season on the field. New York leads a pack of five teams - four tied for second seven back, and Atlanta, which is eight back. Among the foursome is Carolina, which visits New York next week, and Tampa Bay, Minnesota, and Fort Lauderdale.

Saturday, October 5, 2013

The Portland State Vikings maintained their position at the top of the Big Sky table with their third win of the season, using two quality strikes in the first half to down host Eastern Washington, which is now 0-3.

Friday, October 4, 2013

Each week INWsoccernews will release lists of the week’s best performances for men’s and women’s soccer in the region, recognizing players at schools in the region or those from the area that play elsewhere in the nation.

Thursday, October 3, 2013

In the final weekend of competition between the East and North Divisions of the NWAACC, the East came out slightly on top as both the men and women's teams each finished with a 3-2-4 record against the North. Walla Walla had the best overall performance with a 3-0-1 record on the week.

The RMC Battlin' Bears traveled to Utah where the men edged host Westminster 1-0 while the ladies rebounded from a 1-0 loss to 21st-ranked CSU San Marcos before rebounding to top William Jessup 3-2. It was a rough week for the rest of the teams in the region as the Carroll women and College of Idaho men were both swept.

Wednesday, October 2, 2013

The Whitworth Pirates and Whitman Missionaries dominated their foes from George Fox and Pacific on the weekend by an aggregate 17-6 tally. Things did not go as well on the women's side as the Pirates dropped both contests and Whitman fell in the first to Pacific only to rebound for an upset win over 20th-ranked Linfield.

In the GNAC, it was the Central Washington women having the best outing among the three INW schools as they defeated the other two, Northwest Nazarene 4-1 and MSU-Billings 2-1 in overtime, for a sweep on the weekend.

Tuesday, October 1, 2013

With conference play underway for most of the Division I programs, the Big Sky kicked things off this week with a championship rematch between Idaho State and Montana, who ended up playing to a third consecutive draw between the two programs. Meanwhile, in their Pac-12 opener Washington State was surprisingly stymied by the Oregon Ducks in a scoreless draw.